I've been in several classes at my school that require research projects of one sort or another. If the professor thinks it's important enough, he takes a day off so a librarian can come in and teach us the basics of researching. The major topic is how to find stuff on the web (including an overview of the various paid databases the school has access to), and how to know if you can trust the info when you find it.
Most of this I had already learned in highschool, but there were certainly people in those classes who were clueless when it came to doing any kind of real research.
You may not be able to wear the latest fashions, or drive the latest car earning mimimum wage (which is far below the mean wage) - but you can easily afford a car (a pure luxury in most countries), apartment, television, computer, internet access, some of the highest quality foodstuffs in the world...
Actually, if you're making minimum wage, ($5.15/hr, or roughly $800/month) you'll be hard pressed to pay rent in a _shared_ apartment, plus electricity, phone, and don't forget food. When you're making minimum wage, "new" clothes from the Salvation Army become a luxury, and forget about owning a car.
From my own experience, and that of my college-student friends, I can tell you that you need to be making $8-$10/hr on a full-time week to get by, at least in the Northeast U.S.
While the law may not forbid prayer in schools, many schools take the spirit of the law a little too far. When I was in highschool, some friends and I started setting aside time to pray as a group one morning a week before school. Eventually, it was a large enough group that we had to turn it into a formal school club. This turned out to be a problem. We had to have an advisor so we could keep meeting on school grounds, but the advisor couldn't ever do ANYTHING with the club, because that would mean the school was "endorsing" our prayers. Frustrating, that's for sure. The school also wouldn't let us advertise like other clubs did, since that would also be "endorsing" us.
Basically, we turned into a little clandestine group that barely had permission to meet for prayer one morning and Bible study a different afternoon. Outside of our circle of friends, we didn't know who else might be interested, and we had no way of reaching out to people we didn't know. The club died out when most of us graduated.
1. Moving an executable is of little good, as most executables have dependencies upon other files in the original directory. The same goes for Copying an executable. But making shortcuts of an executable and placing them in various locations is a common enough task on Windows, thus the default action.
This behavior confused the hell out of me when I first started using Windows. I was used to Macintosh, where you CAN actually move executables around. Imagine, being able to organize your programs any way you want! And not having to use that stupid Start menu to access ANYTHING!
Someone on the coding team at Netgear needs to be taken outside and shot; they never seem to learn their lesson about abusing other people's services.
Story: I used to work/volunteer for DynDNS.org. The Netgear firmware client for DynDNS tried to update regularly (I believe every 5 minutes) whether or not the IP address had actually changed AND whether or not it got a response. Once enough of these got out into the market, this became quite a problem for DynDNS, especially with users complaining that we "blocked" their hostnames updated with the Netgear client when their router advertised specifically that it worked with our service.
I believe after a year or so of nagging the Netgear people, they finally released a firmware update that actually fixed the problem.
It is because instead of paying a half way decent rate they can get them for $15-$20 an hour.
I'm currently working for $15/hour (gross, not net). I can pay all my bills, and I have a little money left over for school. Seems like a "decent rate" to me. (At least until my student loans start coming in...)
I've hear that, in the US, having a car is a MUST. I don't understand then, howcome in India we are able to live without personal cars? Why did we build such excellent public transport?
Because your country didn't embrace the automobile in the same way that the US did. Your country is also more densely packed with people (in general). Very few places exist in the US with reliable public transportation. So if you don't live in one of the cities that does (say you live in the country, or in a smaller city, or in California), a car is necessary.
In the smaller cities, where it is necessary to have a car, the public transportation that DOES exist is under-utilized, because everyone has a car. So there is no incentive to improve the public transportation; but noone wants to use it until it improves (they'd rather use their cars, which are more reliable).
Make sense?
I do agree that USians see a higher standard of living as "basic" than Indians do.
I do live in MA (still high taxes). I make (the equivalent of) 30K, with no benefits. And I can make ends meet, with a little money left over out of each paycheck.
How do I do this? I share an apartment with two other girls. I bring my lunch to work every day. I'm not buying new electronics, and I drive a 12-year old car (which is in very good condition). I get as little insurance as I can afford to (this will hopefully be temporary). I consider buying a coffee, a lunch, or a CD to be a treat (although I do it once or twice a week.) All this leaves me some money to put into savings with each paycheck.
Obviously, if you have a family to support, you can't do all of this - you'll have more expenses. I also don't plan for this to be a permanent lifestyle - but I won't ramp up my spending until I get a permanent job.
If I knew my job was going to be outsourced, I'd ask if I could keep the job if they paid me less. I'm all for the Indians, Chinese, etc. improving their way of life, but I do like the luxuries of food and my own bedroom with a roof over it and insulation in the walls.
If I was really desperate, I might try moving in with my one of my parents, but that would mean giving up all pretense of privacy, as I'd be sleeping on their couch - which I know is STILL better than most people in the third-world.
For jobs that require college education, I can think of a possible reason: going to a US college/university (generally) requires amassing large amounts of debt. If I remember correctly, most European universities provide lots of aid to their European students; however, you're considered lucky to get out of a US private university with less than $40,000 in debt.
After graduating, you'll need to make $25-30k just to pay living expenses (with a little disposable income), but you'll also need an extra $4-8k per year to pay off your student loans on time (you get 10 years). Suddenly, a starting salary of $35k doesn't sound so great anymore, huh?
As far as more senior workers, I can only speculate that as you get older, your tastes get more expensive, and so you ask for more from your employer.
"The Hacker's Diet: How to lose weight and hair through stress and poor nutrition."
No, really. It's a book by John Walker, freely available on the web. He explains in simple language (and diagrams) what most of us have known all along: eat less, exercise a little, and STICK TO IT!
Basically, you should figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight, and take off about 500/day to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Add in some moderate (15 minutes) exercise every day, and you're on your way to becoming thin and svelte (well, sorta). The book provides tools (either paper & pencil, or computerized) that help you track your progress, plan your meals, and illustrate some of the concepts presented in the book.
I started this diet 3 weeks ago, and I thought it was going to be really hard - but most of my cravings I've been able to deal with, by having, say, a small scoop of ice cream, which fits into my caloric allowance for the day. I can see myself having this as a lifestyle, and I do feel healthier.
all laws should be fair to all people, and enforced appropriately... (emphasis added)
Pick two.
Seriously, the only way you have the situation you describe is to have extremely few laws, or extremely complex ones. Like, it's only grand theft auto if you didn't need the car (with a full definition of what consitutes need), AND you didn't look around to ask permission of the owner (for x minutes, in which you talked to y people trying to find the owner). - And that's a law that would be pretty clear-cut!
We're getting into this situation already. It's to the point where you can't do anything without checking with a lawyer first, to see if it's legal.
Yes, it's a good idea to have laws that are good and fair to everyone. But in this day and age, that's too idealistic; it's not going to happen.
Re:why did she have to name him Ethan?
on
The Bug
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· Score: 1
There are some of us for whom its the other way around. I have a very unusual name (though not entirely unique), and as such, it is usually my username. However, my username of preference is actually much more common. It's the nickname I got in highschool - "Nitro".
So, I have an uncommon name (Anitra) and a more common nickname (Nitro - also more androgynous, heh). When I was even younger I had the nickname "Ann" - a very common name. I guess the reasons for these nicknames is so there's less chance of someone messing my name up. It gets really annoying to hear people accent your name wrong or drop letters from it everytime you meet someone new.
I was going to recommend dict.org, but then I went and looked at dictionary.com again. Seems they pull from pretty much the same databases/dictionaries (in English anyway), everything from Webster's to "WordNet" to the Free Online dictionary of computing. Heck, they even (both) have dictionaries of Biblical names & terms! Wow.
I can see why you'd prefer dictionary.com, though. They have better foreign language support, and a thesaurus; dict.org has several different algorithms for searching (that you can choose from), and you can also narrow your choice to a single dictionary with dict.org.
What about a mini-van? They tend to be more fuel-efficient than SUV's (and can carry more whiny kids, too)... Oh, you say you don't want to look like a soccer mom? Deal with it.
The minivan is the modern full-size wagon. But no self-respecting male wants to be seen in one, for some reason.
Have you looked an a honda insight? It looks strange and is horridly over priced considering it's functionality. great gas milage, but as a family car it falls short of even the accord or camry.
That's why Honda is also making a Civic hybrid - it's more to people's taste. I only wish I could afford to buy a new car.
The last part of your comment brought up an issue I've been discussing with my friends lately: So, to the obvious question for any of these threads. What do you drive to work every day? Do you walk or bike? Good for you if you do.
I wish. I currently live about 30 miles away from my job. No, I can't move right now; I just started my year-long lease (which lasts longer than the job will). The apartment also puts me near school (which I'd rather walk to anyway).
For your daily commute do you drive an alternative fuel vehicle? They are readily available in North America and throughout Europe.
How are they readily available? I don't think I've EVER seen one (I live in central Massachusetts). What kind of alternative fuel are you talking about?
If not, take a flying, hypocritical leap. Gas Guzzlers? Last time I checked, hybrids weren't burning sugar and spice and everything nice.
True, but hybrid vs. regular gas-guzzler? Hybrid wins; at least for me.
Disclaimer: I do drive a (moderately) gas-guzzling car. It's 12 years old, and cost $2,500 for me to acquire. I wish I had a more efficient car/method of getting to work, but I can't afford anything more expensive.
...to support my five kids while only working 75% of the year so that I can take month long RV trips with them in the summers and be home for every christmas vacation. These are attainable goals if you set your priorities correctly.
I look for longevity at jobs first. I just threw out a resume because the guy has never held a job for more than 1 year...
What if the jobs were all temporary jobs? Personally, I've had 4-6 tech jobs (depending on how you look at it: 4 paying jobs + 2 unpaid projects that I list on my resume) in the past 3 years. Does this mean I have no loyalty? No. None of those projects/jobs were SUPPOSED to last more than 9 months. (Well, there is one exception, in which I was a volunteer for 2.5 years before I got paid for 4 months.) I would LOVE to get a job where I could envision still being there in a few years. I'd hate to think that managers like you are dismissing my resume out of hand.
Me? I started my own company when times got tough. Life is good.
That's great. Not everyone can do that. Personally, I'd love to be grossing $40,000/year. But it took my 3 years of experience to get an "entry-level" "internship" that will only last until October. And the company can pay me $15/hr with NO benefits because the job is temporary, and I needed money and "real-world experience".
When I finish this internship (coincidentally, around the same time I finish my B.S.), I HOPE I can find another job that pays this well. Hell, I hope I can find another JOB.
Just open your eyes and try something that everyone else isn't.
Right. Like collecting cans to pay rent and living on $0.50 Ramen each day? Oh wait, I know people who are "trying" that, too.
Anger aside, I'm just trying to point out to you: not everyone has the drive and the diversity of skills necessary to run their own company.
You had friends across the hall from me this year. You never stopped to say hello
Dude, I just finished my senior year. I have friends all over campus, ranging from freshman to super-duper-seniors. You're going to have to be a bit more specific...
Er, anyway, you definitely are not fat. (Based not on the pictures...
Never said I was. I'm just larger-than-average.:)
Oh, and how's Dark Cloud going? I still think the sequel is far better...
I haven't played Dark Cloud much since last summer. Haven't had time, with MQP and trying to graduate, and all. Haven't seen the sequel, though people speak highly of it. (relatively, anyway)
My curiosity has gotten the better of me. Someone at WPI.. most likely male (duh, at WPI)... have spoken to him about female body-image issues, and has seen me play/spoken to me about Dark Cloud... Who are you???!! If you don't want to give up your identity, you could always email me.
If I had points, I'd mod you up. Instead, you've just been added to my friends list.
I used to be one of the hangers-on of the geek crowd, but as more of a little sister, less of a sex symbol (thankfully). About two years ago, I looked around and asked myself why I wasn't at least learning HOW to program instead of watching my friends fool around with computers. About a year and a half ago, I became a CS major; I'm now two classes away from my B.S., and plan to go on and do more research in grad school (eventually).
Thanks. I used to think I was, but it's been quite a while since I truly believed I was "fat". It's more that I just have a big frame (5'9"ish), and I was/am pretty out-of-shape. But I don't measure my "in-shape-ness" or attractiveness by what size pants I wear;)
Slashdot Mirror
I've been in several classes at my school that require research projects of one sort or another. If the professor thinks it's important enough, he takes a day off so a librarian can come in and teach us the basics of researching. The major topic is how to find stuff on the web (including an overview of the various paid databases the school has access to), and how to know if you can trust the info when you find it.
Most of this I had already learned in highschool, but there were certainly people in those classes who were clueless when it came to doing any kind of real research.
You may not be able to wear the latest fashions, or drive the latest car earning mimimum wage (which is far below the mean wage) - but you can easily afford a car (a pure luxury in most countries), apartment, television, computer, internet access, some of the highest quality foodstuffs in the world...
Actually, if you're making minimum wage, ($5.15/hr, or roughly $800/month) you'll be hard pressed to pay rent in a _shared_ apartment, plus electricity, phone, and don't forget food. When you're making minimum wage, "new" clothes from the Salvation Army become a luxury, and forget about owning a car.
From my own experience, and that of my college-student friends, I can tell you that you need to be making $8-$10/hr on a full-time week to get by, at least in the Northeast U.S.
While the law may not forbid prayer in schools, many schools take the spirit of the law a little too far. When I was in highschool, some friends and I started setting aside time to pray as a group one morning a week before school. Eventually, it was a large enough group that we had to turn it into a formal school club. This turned out to be a problem. We had to have an advisor so we could keep meeting on school grounds, but the advisor couldn't ever do ANYTHING with the club, because that would mean the school was "endorsing" our prayers. Frustrating, that's for sure. The school also wouldn't let us advertise like other clubs did, since that would also be "endorsing" us.
Basically, we turned into a little clandestine group that barely had permission to meet for prayer one morning and Bible study a different afternoon. Outside of our circle of friends, we didn't know who else might be interested, and we had no way of reaching out to people we didn't know. The club died out when most of us graduated.
1. Moving an executable is of little good, as most executables have dependencies upon other files in the original directory. The same goes for Copying an executable. But making shortcuts of an executable and placing them in various locations is a common enough task on Windows, thus the default action.
This behavior confused the hell out of me when I first started using Windows. I was used to Macintosh, where you CAN actually move executables around. Imagine, being able to organize your programs any way you want! And not having to use that stupid Start menu to access ANYTHING!
Someone on the coding team at Netgear needs to be taken outside and shot; they never seem to learn their lesson about abusing other people's services.
Story:
I used to work/volunteer for DynDNS.org. The Netgear firmware client for DynDNS tried to update regularly (I believe every 5 minutes) whether or not the IP address had actually changed AND whether or not it got a response. Once enough of these got out into the market, this became quite a problem for DynDNS, especially with users complaining that we "blocked" their hostnames updated with the Netgear client when their router advertised specifically that it worked with our service.
I believe after a year or so of nagging the Netgear people, they finally released a firmware update that actually fixed the problem.
Yes and no. I don't really want to do my current job, but I do really want to eat and pay my student loans.
The things I really want to do right now, I can't, because I'm too far in debt.
It is because instead of paying a half way decent rate they can get them for $15-$20 an hour.
I'm currently working for $15/hour (gross, not net). I can pay all my bills, and I have a little money left over for school. Seems like a "decent rate" to me. (At least until my student loans start coming in...)
There is one difference:
We don't know where to buy American-made goods. The employers know where to find American workers (or at least they should...)
I've hear that, in the US, having a car is a MUST. I don't understand then, howcome in India we are able to live without personal cars? Why did we build such excellent public transport?
Because your country didn't embrace the automobile in the same way that the US did. Your country is also more densely packed with people (in general). Very few places exist in the US with reliable public transportation. So if you don't live in one of the cities that does (say you live in the country, or in a smaller city, or in California), a car is necessary.
In the smaller cities, where it is necessary to have a car, the public transportation that DOES exist is under-utilized, because everyone has a car. So there is no incentive to improve the public transportation; but noone wants to use it until it improves (they'd rather use their cars, which are more reliable).
Make sense?
I do agree that USians see a higher standard of living as "basic" than Indians do.
I do live in MA (still high taxes). I make (the equivalent of) 30K, with no benefits. And I can make ends meet, with a little money left over out of each paycheck.
How do I do this? I share an apartment with two other girls. I bring my lunch to work every day. I'm not buying new electronics, and I drive a 12-year old car (which is in very good condition). I get as little insurance as I can afford to (this will hopefully be temporary). I consider buying a coffee, a lunch, or a CD to be a treat (although I do it once or twice a week.) All this leaves me some money to put into savings with each paycheck.
Obviously, if you have a family to support, you can't do all of this - you'll have more expenses. I also don't plan for this to be a permanent lifestyle - but I won't ramp up my spending until I get a permanent job.
If I knew my job was going to be outsourced, I'd ask if I could keep the job if they paid me less. I'm all for the Indians, Chinese, etc. improving their way of life, but I do like the luxuries of food and my own bedroom with a roof over it and insulation in the walls.
If I was really desperate, I might try moving in with my one of my parents, but that would mean giving up all pretense of privacy, as I'd be sleeping on their couch - which I know is STILL better than most people in the third-world.
For jobs that require college education, I can think of a possible reason: going to a US college/university (generally) requires amassing large amounts of debt. If I remember correctly, most European universities provide lots of aid to their European students; however, you're considered lucky to get out of a US private university with less than $40,000 in debt.
After graduating, you'll need to make $25-30k just to pay living expenses (with a little disposable income), but you'll also need an extra $4-8k per year to pay off your student loans on time (you get 10 years). Suddenly, a starting salary of $35k doesn't sound so great anymore, huh?
As far as more senior workers, I can only speculate that as you get older, your tastes get more expensive, and so you ask for more from your employer.
"The Hacker's Diet: How to lose weight and hair through stress and poor nutrition."
No, really. It's a book by John Walker, freely available on the web. He explains in simple language (and diagrams) what most of us have known all along: eat less, exercise a little, and STICK TO IT!
Basically, you should figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight, and take off about 500/day to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Add in some moderate (15 minutes) exercise every day, and you're on your way to becoming thin and svelte (well, sorta). The book provides tools (either paper & pencil, or computerized) that help you track your progress, plan your meals, and illustrate some of the concepts presented in the book.
I started this diet 3 weeks ago, and I thought it was going to be really hard - but most of my cravings I've been able to deal with, by having, say, a small scoop of ice cream, which fits into my caloric allowance for the day. I can see myself having this as a lifestyle, and I do feel healthier.
all laws should be fair to all people, and enforced appropriately... (emphasis added)
Pick two.
Seriously, the only way you have the situation you describe is to have extremely few laws, or extremely complex ones. Like, it's only grand theft auto if you didn't need the car (with a full definition of what consitutes need), AND you didn't look around to ask permission of the owner (for x minutes, in which you talked to y people trying to find the owner). - And that's a law that would be pretty clear-cut!
We're getting into this situation already. It's to the point where you can't do anything without checking with a lawyer first, to see if it's legal.
Yes, it's a good idea to have laws that are good and fair to everyone. But in this day and age, that's too idealistic; it's not going to happen.
There are some of us for whom its the other way around. I have a very unusual name (though not entirely unique), and as such, it is usually my username. However, my username of preference is actually much more common. It's the nickname I got in highschool - "Nitro".
So, I have an uncommon name (Anitra) and a more common nickname (Nitro - also more androgynous, heh). When I was even younger I had the nickname "Ann" - a very common name. I guess the reasons for these nicknames is so there's less chance of someone messing my name up. It gets really annoying to hear people accent your name wrong or drop letters from it everytime you meet someone new.
I was going to recommend dict.org, but then I went and looked at dictionary.com again. Seems they pull from pretty much the same databases/dictionaries (in English anyway), everything from Webster's to "WordNet" to the Free Online dictionary of computing. Heck, they even (both) have dictionaries of Biblical names & terms! Wow.
I can see why you'd prefer dictionary.com, though. They have better foreign language support, and a thesaurus; dict.org has several different algorithms for searching (that you can choose from), and you can also narrow your choice to a single dictionary with dict.org.
What about a mini-van? They tend to be more fuel-efficient than SUV's (and can carry more whiny kids, too)... Oh, you say you don't want to look like a soccer mom? Deal with it.
The minivan is the modern full-size wagon. But no self-respecting male wants to be seen in one, for some reason.
Have you looked an a honda insight? It looks strange and is horridly over priced considering it's functionality. great gas milage, but as a family car it falls short of even the accord or camry.
That's why Honda is also making a Civic hybrid - it's more to people's taste. I only wish I could afford to buy a new car.
The last part of your comment brought up an issue I've been discussing with my friends lately:
So, to the obvious question for any of these threads. What do you drive to work every day? Do you walk or bike? Good for you if you do.
I wish. I currently live about 30 miles away from my job. No, I can't move right now; I just started my year-long lease (which lasts longer than the job will). The apartment also puts me near school (which I'd rather walk to anyway).
For your daily commute do you drive an alternative fuel vehicle? They are readily available in North America and throughout Europe.
How are they readily available? I don't think I've EVER seen one (I live in central Massachusetts). What kind of alternative fuel are you talking about?
If not, take a flying, hypocritical leap. Gas Guzzlers? Last time I checked, hybrids weren't burning sugar and spice and everything nice.
True, but hybrid vs. regular gas-guzzler? Hybrid wins; at least for me.
Disclaimer: I do drive a (moderately) gas-guzzling car. It's 12 years old, and cost $2,500 for me to acquire. I wish I had a more efficient car/method of getting to work, but I can't afford anything more expensive.
...to support my five kids while only working 75% of the year so that I can take month long RV trips with them in the summers and be home for every christmas vacation. These are attainable goals if you set your priorities correctly.
Dude, how? 5 kids is expensive.
I look for longevity at jobs first. I just threw out a resume because the guy has never held a job for more than 1 year...
What if the jobs were all temporary jobs? Personally, I've had 4-6 tech jobs (depending on how you look at it: 4 paying jobs + 2 unpaid projects that I list on my resume) in the past 3 years. Does this mean I have no loyalty? No. None of those projects/jobs were SUPPOSED to last more than 9 months. (Well, there is one exception, in which I was a volunteer for 2.5 years before I got paid for 4 months.) I would LOVE to get a job where I could envision still being there in a few years. I'd hate to think that managers like you are dismissing my resume out of hand.
Me? I started my own company when times got tough. Life is good.
That's great. Not everyone can do that. Personally, I'd love to be grossing $40,000/year. But it took my 3 years of experience to get an "entry-level" "internship" that will only last until October. And the company can pay me $15/hr with NO benefits because the job is temporary, and I needed money and "real-world experience".
When I finish this internship (coincidentally, around the same time I finish my B.S.), I HOPE I can find another job that pays this well. Hell, I hope I can find another JOB.
Just open your eyes and try something that everyone else isn't.
Right. Like collecting cans to pay rent and living on $0.50 Ramen each day? Oh wait, I know people who are "trying" that, too.
Anger aside, I'm just trying to point out to you: not everyone has the drive and the diversity of skills necessary to run their own company.
Wish I could figure out who you are, then...
:)
You had friends across the hall from me this year. You never stopped to say hello
Dude, I just finished my senior year. I have friends all over campus, ranging from freshman to super-duper-seniors. You're going to have to be a bit more specific...
Er, anyway, you definitely are not fat. (Based not on the pictures...
Never said I was. I'm just larger-than-average.
Oh, and how's Dark Cloud going? I still think the sequel is far better...
I haven't played Dark Cloud much since last summer. Haven't had time, with MQP and trying to graduate, and all. Haven't seen the sequel, though people speak highly of it. (relatively, anyway)
My curiosity has gotten the better of me. Someone at WPI.. most likely male (duh, at WPI)... have spoken to him about female body-image issues, and has seen me play/spoken to me about Dark Cloud... Who are you???!! If you don't want to give up your identity, you could always email me.
If I had points, I'd mod you up. Instead, you've just been added to my friends list.
I used to be one of the hangers-on of the geek crowd, but as more of a little sister, less of a sex symbol (thankfully). About two years ago, I looked around and asked myself why I wasn't at least learning HOW to program instead of watching my friends fool around with computers. About a year and a half ago, I became a CS major; I'm now two classes away from my B.S., and plan to go on and do more research in grad school (eventually).
Thanks for the compliment.. I think...
For the record, you aren't fat .
;)
Thanks. I used to think I was, but it's been quite a while since I truly believed I was "fat". It's more that I just have a big frame (5'9"ish), and I was/am pretty out-of-shape. But I don't measure my "in-shape-ness" or attractiveness by what size pants I wear